Stereo-rama motion picture machine



Aprifi 23, 19 H. RATLIFF, JR

STEREO-RAMA MOTION PICTURE MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 17, 1965 INVENTOR M 4 AWL April 23, 1968 H. L. RATLIFF, JR

STEREO-RAMA MOTION PICTURE MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1965 IZR INVE NTOR FIG.6

United States Patent Ofi ice 3,379,489 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 3,379,489 STEREO-RAMA MOTION PICTURE MAHINE Harvey L. Ratliff, Jr., Oxon Hill, Md., assignor to Jetru Inn, Amarillo, Tex. Filed Sept. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 488,053 16 Claims. (Cl. 352-60) My invention is directed to improvements in stereorama movie machines, primarily to coin operated stereorama movie machines. The machines may reconstruct moving images alone or moving images combined with sound (stereophonic or monophonic), odor, and various sensations of feel, in a non-television manner.

There is no system taught by the prior art which makes possible the reconstruction of wide-angle stereoscopic moving images which recreate the sensation of stereoperipheral vision greater than 180 in the horiontal plane and 140 in the vertical plane for people who wear spectacles and up to over 240 in the horizontal plane for people who do not wear spectacles, and which is usable with non-television means that is otherwise substantially conventional to coin operated machines.

The system of the present invention is therefore very economical because it makes possible the production of an extremely superior result by making only slight modifications in otherwise conventional equipment. It does this by making novel and unobvious changes in the recording and reproduction systems which were heretofore known.

It is therefore the primary objectof the present invention to teach a coin operated machine which is very economical to make and use, which will reconstruct stereoperipheral moving portrayals having the sensation of about 180 vision in the horizontal plane and 140 vision in the vertical plane for any viewer whose eyes are capable of seeing this wide of an angle, and not discriminate against spectacle wearers.

Another object is to re-construct the sounds associated with the portrayal; the odors, and a few sensations of feel may also be re-created.

Another object of the present invention is to teach the novel recording and reproduction system that makes the above possible.

The only extremely wide-angle motion picture (nontelevision) machine taught by the prior art requires much more complex apparatus to reach a result which is considerably inferior in that it is capable of only some 140 stereo-peripheral reconstruction for only people who do not wear spectacles. None of the prior art teaches the recording or reproduction system which is unique to the present invention.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a study of the following description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the function performed by the recording and reproducing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagrammatic view of the optical apparatus used in the recording phase of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional diagrammatic view of WAL of FIG. 2 looking from the left as WAL is cut by the plane containing axis LEA and the point at the center of image IL of FIG. 1(a).

FIG. 4 is a sectional diagrammatic view of the visual apparatus including UL and above which is pertinent to the present invention looking from the left as cut by the plane containing points HL, BL and FL of FIG. 1(a).

FIG. 5 is a sectional diagrammatic view of the visual apparatus including IIL and below which is pertinent to the present invention looking from the left as cut by the plane containing points HL, DL and EL of FIG. 1(c).

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing the preferred stereo-rama movie machine located inside a cabinet.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wideangle taking lenses WAL and WAR are provided which focus images having angles of view greater than 120- 197 upon film F as shown in FIG. 1(b). These lenses maybe any lens constructed upon the Hill fisheye principle (i.e. basically as the Nikon Fisheye or the Kinoptik Super Tegea). It is contemplated that each taking lens will be constructed as shown in FIG. 3.

The lens systems are arranged such that ARV and ALV are approximately 65 millimeters apart, that REA is rotated to the right of ARV (i.e. in the same horizontal plane with ARV and that LEA is rotated to the left of ALV (i.e. 30) in the same horizontal plane therewith. The focal length of WAL and WAR is made very short in the well known manner (i.e. 8 mm) All right eye rays within the spectacle cone (i.e. 140 cone) defined by outside peripheral ray OPR (which symbolizes all rays entering WAR at an angle of 70 to axis REA, the recording axis) and the non-spectacle cone (i.e. the 180) which are the rays entering WAR at angles less than 90 with respect to recording axis REA, pass through large negative meniscus lens 4R, negative meniscus lens 5R, the first right achromatic lens system 6R, filtering element 7R, aperture 8R, achromatic lens system 9R, reflector 10R and achromatic lens system 11R, and are thereby focused upon film F, the representation of REA being focused at HR. The elements of WAR are not shown but are identical to the corresponding elements of WAL of FIG. 3.

In a corresponding manner the left eye rays within the spectacle cone defined by outside peripheral ray OPL (which symbolizes all rays entering WAL at an angle of to axis LEA) and the non-spectacle cone which are the rays entering WAL at angles less than with respect to recording axis LEA pass correspondingly through 4L, 5L, 6L, 7L, 8L, 9L, are reflected by 10L and pass correspondingly through ML and are thereby focused upon film F as IR as shown in FIG. 1(b), the representation of LEA being focused at HL.

The representations of OPR, REA, ARV, ALV, LEA, and OPL are each respectively focused upon film F at points CR, HR, GR, GL, HL, and CL respectively. These points will subsequently be reproduced upon frosted surfaces ll3R and 13L respectively as shown in FIGS. 1(a), 4, 5 and 6, in a manner which will be described herein after.

It may be seen that in the unique and novel system of the present invention the up direction of the images IR and IL recorded upon film F (as represented by the arrows in FIG. 1(1)) or FIGS. 1(a) and l(c)) is rotated with reference to the direction of film travel an angle which is the same (i.e. 30) as the angle of lens rotation (i.e. the angle between REA and ARV or the angle between LEA and ALV). In fact the up direction U is in the same direction as the recording axis REA or LEA. Of course the horizontal representations upon film F are perpendicular to the up representations U.

The film feed and other motion picture apparatus for exposing the motion picture images upon film E which is not described hereinabove works in a manner which is well known or obvious from the teachings of the prior motion-picture art, taken in conjunction with the teachings hereof and will therefore not be set forth, herein.

Light provided by lamps and reflectors within hull 31 which work in manners well known in the motion-picture projection art passes through condensers 17L and 17R (not shown but identical to 1.7L), through images IL and IR respectively as film F is fed by means 29, 37, 23, 22, 2 1, 39, 41, 42, etc. which will be described in more detail hereinafter or by another means which is well known in the art of coin operated motion-picture machines, through objective lens systems 16L and 16R respectively, the images 1L and IR respectively being projected therefrom to reflectors 15L and 15R respectively; reflectors 15L and 15R reflect the respective projected beams such that their respective axes leave points EL and ER respectively in a direction perpendicular to that of entrance and perpendicuiar to the up direction U of IL and IR respectively as recorded upon F, and enter points DL and DR respectively of reflector-s ML and 14R respectively; reflectors 14L and MR reflect the respective projected beams such that their respective axes leave points DL and LR respectively in an upward direction which is perpendicular to the plane of film F and the plane of images IL and IR being projected, and are focused upon frosted surfaces 13L and 13R respectively; HL and HR being the respective representation of the respective axes.

Rays from the images formed upon 13L and 13R respectively leaving the surfaces thereof within the nonspectacle cone are reflected by reflectors 12L and 12R respectively such that their respective axes leave their respective points of reflection BL and BR along a path which is parallel to the respective up directions U of IL and IR respectively as recorded upon film F to thereby enter the left eye of viewing observers as if it were in the position of WAL looking down ALV when the scene was being recorded and to thereby enter the right eye of viewing observers as if it were in the position of WAR looking down ARV when the scene was being recorded. The oculars WOL and WOR respectively converge the rays such that they enter the eyes within two diverging spectacle cones when designed to be viewed at the distances (eye to ocular distances) required for people who wear spectacles to create the sensation of over 180 stereo-peripheral vision in motion as if the viewer were on the spot in the actual situation when it was recorded. When the oculars are designed to be placed as close as possible tothe eyes of the viewer who does not wear spectacles, since the oculars do not have to have short focal lengths and may therefore have large diameters, the stereo-peripheral re-creation may be as great as the taking lens angle of View plus the angle of divergence between the recording axes LEA and REA. Therefore, by way of example, if the Kinoptik Super Tegea" 197 fish eye lens was modified by the insertion of reflectors L and 163R for the left and right taking lenses respectively and the angle of divergence was 60 (i.e. LEA is 30 to the left of ALV and REA is 30 to the right of ARV) stereo-peripheral re-creation could be as great as 257. It is not necessarily impossible to accomplish this for people who wear spectacles, but the ocular focal lengths required for so doing would be too for practicality.

The oculars W 0L and WOR working in conjunction with 12L and 12R respectively and the images IIL and IIR formed upon surfaces 13L and 13R respectively as described hereinabove converge the rays such that they enter the eyes of the viewing observer as if he were actually seeing the portrayal which has been recorded upon film F, with the sensation of stereo-peripheral vision of 180- 257". The lenses may readily be designed such that the viewing observer is unaware of any distortion whatsoever, although the images upon 13L and 13R will appear very distorted to the naked eye.

In the contemplated form of the invention the oculars WOL and WOR each have two lenses 2L and 2R respectively and BL and 3R respectively; however they could have other arrangements i.e-. three positive meniscus concentric lenses per ocular or one, aspherical lens per ocular. Of course the oculars are designed such that the focal length thereof at the peripheral edges is greater than the central focal length so that the rays enter the eyes of the viewer substantially as if they originated from points far behind the virtual image (shown as the vertical dashed line of FIG. 4) as described in my copending prior appli- 4 cation 250,564 (now abandoned) filed Jan. 10, 1963 (see FIG. 16 and its description therein).

The rays entering WAL along OPL recorded at point CL by the means shown in FIGS. 1(a), 2, and 3 upon film F as described hereinabove. Also the rays entering WAL along ALV are recorded at point GL and the rays entering WAR along CPR and ARV are recorded at points CR and GR respectively.

The rays originating from points CL, GL and CR enter the eyes of the viewing observer along OPL, ALV and OPR respectively as shown in FIG. 1(c) to create the stereo-peripheral sensation when the machine is designed for viewers including spectacle wearers, which is the most contemplated form of the present invention.

It may be seen that substantially conventional equipment may be used to project moving images (as shown in FIG. 6) to reflectors 15L and 15R respectively, but the contemplated means for accomplishing this will now be set forth herein, reference being made to FIG. 6.

The mechanism is contained within a cabinet 15. The film F is continuous, its ends being cemented together so as to constitute a relatively large loop. The excess film may be stored in any suitable manner. For example, it may be arranged on sprocket Wheels 4% located under the lantern within 31 so that the major part of the film is located in vertical lengths in the manner shown in FIG. 6.

The film is fed from the sprockets 40 to sprockets 44 and from there by means of feed sprockets 21 and cooperating rollers 22 through a frame 23 which is located between the lantern 31 and the objective lens structures 16L and 16R so that frames IL and IR of film F are in alignment with the light emitting openings in front of 17L and 17R (see FIG. 5 The lantern is provided with a rotatable shutter 28 whereby the light is interrupted in the necessary manner for movie reproduction.

The sprockets 4t) and 21 are driven continuously in appropriate directions by a motor 32 through a suitable gear reduction 33. The motor 32 is preferable a synchronous motor so that there is more realism and that the pitch of the music is preserved (if sound tracks are provided in a manner described hereinafter). The right sprocket 21 is driven by the right shaft 26. Shafts 26 both carry worms 24 which mesh with worm gears 38 which are rigidly mounted on shafts carrying sprockets 21.

Also mounted on the right shaft 26 is the worm of worm gear system 37 which drives the worm gear thereof, the worm gear being rigidly mounted on a shaft which extends through a claw housing rigidly mounted on the structure 58 which carries the frame 23. The housing 54 carries three claws 29 which are arranged to enter the sprocket holes 55 of film F and effect the normal step by step movement of the film in the usual movie projector fashion. The housing 54 contains the necessary mechanism for driving the claws from the shaft of the worm gear of 37. This mechanism may be of any known or suitable type and since many such mechanisms are in ordinary use in movie projectors, it is unnecessary to describe the same in detail.

The right shaft 26 is driven by worm 36 which meshes with worm gear 34 which is carried by the structure 58. The worm gear 34 is mounted on a gear shaft 35 which extends from the gear reduction housing 33.

The shafts carrying the upper sprockets 40 are provided with gears 43 which are operatively connected by idler gears 45. The forward gear 43 is driven by a gear 56 which is rigidly connected to a worm gear 47. The worm gear 47 is driven by a worm 59 on a shaft 30 extending from gear reduction 33. The rearward gear 43 is driven by a gear 57 which is rigidly connected to a worm gear 46 (by way of example if 59 has right handed threads, 60 has left handed threads so that gears 43 are driven in the same direction). The worm gear 46 is driven by a suitable worm 60 (i.e. a left handed worm) on shaft 30.

Drive shaft 62 working in conjunction with bevel gears 61 and 63 force lower gears 43 to rotate in unison and in the corresponding direction with upper gears 43, thereby forcing gears 45 and wheels 40 to rotate correspondingly.

The shutter 28 is driven by suitable gearing (i.e. bevel gearing) 27 and a chain 25 which is driven directly from the shaft 30. The gear ratios are such that the shutter position is properly correlated to the claw mechanism. The film is sufiiciently long to provide for suitable bights before and behind the slide 23.

The sprockets 21 may be driven by means of worms 24 on'shafts 26 carried by structure 58 in suitable manner.

In the preferred form of the invention the machine is intended for coin operation. Since there are many well known manners for making the machine operative in response to the insertion of various coins (i.e. as taught in US. Patent No. 2,382,470), a system for so doing will not be set forth herein. Also the system of 2,382,470 may be used for selectively arranging several portrayals on extra wide film within the machine.

Other sensibly perceptable aspects of the portrayal may be recorded and reproduced as taught by my copending prior application Ser. No. 295,792 filed July 17, 1963, now US. Patent 3,291,904, with the slight modifications required for adaptation to the present machine.

In a modified form of the invention frosted screens 13L and 13R would be vertical and reflectors L and 15R, 14L and 14R, and 12L and 12R would be placed in the same spatial relationship with respect to each other to thereby project the images upon diverging vertical planes rather than horizontal planes. This will make wider angle vertical visual re-creation more easily attainable. The extremely wide-angle horizontal re-creation is equivalently attainable by either system. The other system was presented in detail first for the sake of simplifying the description of the invention.

Also by way of example well known optical principles could be used to form images IIL and IIR without the use of a screen at all, but by the use of a screen it is possible for images IIL and HR to be independently visible even if they overlap by the principles set forth in my copending prior application 250,564 filed Jan. 10, 1963 (see FIG. 23 and its description).

While the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail in the drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, as other modifications may readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art and within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Stereo-rama apparatus comprising: means to project a first and second extremely wide-angle image recorded upon a film means, the up direction of said first image having a first angular disposition relative to an edge of said film and the up direction of said second image having a second angular disposition relative to said edge and a third angular disposition relative to the first said up direction, in beams with the paths of their central beams perpendicular to the plane of said first and second image, second means to divert the central beam path of the beams carrying said first image to a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of said first said up direction, third means to divert the central beam path of the beams carrying said second image to a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of the second said up direction, fourth means to divert the central beam path of the beams carrying said first image to a direction which is perpendicular to the plane of said first and second images, fifth means to divert the central beam path of the beams carrying said second image to a direction which is perpendicular to the plane of said first and second images and parallel to and laterally displaced from said corresponding central beam path of said beams carrying said first image as diverted by said fourth means, sixth means to divert the central beam path of said beams carrying said first image to a direction which is parallel to said first said up direction, whereby the resulting central beam is along the axis of a first extremely wideangle ocular of a set of right and left eye view extremely wide-angle oculars, seventh means to divert the central beam path of said beams carrying said second image to a direction which is parallel to said second said up direction, whereby the resulting central beam is along the axis of a second extremely wide-angle ocular of said set of oculars, an eighth image forming means between said first means and said first ocular for re-forming said first image perpendicular to the central beam carrying said first image, a ninth image forming means between said first means and said second ocular for re-forming said second image perpendicular to the central beam carrying said second image, all of said means cooperating together such-that said first and second images are re-formed at said eighth and ninth means image re-forming positions respectively and whereby the rays from said first and second images enter the eyes of viewing observers to create the naturally appearing sensation of stereo-peripheral re-construction greater than approximately 180 in the horizontal plane.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said first, second and third angular dispositions are 30, 30 and 60 respectively.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said first, second and third angular dispositions are 20, 20 and 40 respectively.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said first, second and third angular dispositions are 0, 60 and 60 respectively.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh means are each mirrors, each being supported at an angle of to each corresponding incoming and outgoing central beam.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein: said first, second and third angular dispositions are 30, 30 and respectively.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said eighth and ninth means are each frosted screens placed at the focal length of said first means.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein: said eighth and ninth means are each frosted screens placed at the focal length of said first means.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: each of said oculars comprise two concentric positive meniscus lenses.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein: each of said oculars comprise two concentric positive meniscus lenses.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said first and second images are recorded by means of two extremely wide-angle fisheye lenses having their axes diverging at said third angular disposition relative to each other.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein: said first and second images are recorded by means of two extremely wide-angle fisheye lenses having their axes diverging at said third angular disposition relative to each other.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: each of said oculars comprise three concentric positive meniscus lenses.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein: each of said oculars comprise three concentric positive meniscus lenses.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: each of said oculars comprise a single aspherical lens.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein: each of said oculars comprise a single aspherical lens.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,592,034 7/1926 Macy 352--320 1,744,459 l/1930 Fairall 35244 2,953,980 9/1960 Montebello 352-57 X 3,050,870 8/1962 Heilig 35257 X JULIA E. COINER, Primary Examiner. 

1. STEREO-RAMA APPARATUS COMPRISING: MEANS TO PROJECT A FIRST AND SECOND EXTREMELY WIDE-ANGLE IMAGE RECORDED UPON A FILM MEANS, THE UP DIRECTION OF SAID FIRST IMAGE HAVING A FIRST ANGULAR DISPOSITION RELATIVE TO AN EDGE OF SAID FILM AND THE UP DIRECTION OF SAID SECOND IMAGE HAVING A SECOND ANGULAR DISPOSITION RELATIVE TO SAID EDGE AND A THIRD ANGULAR DISPOSITION RELATIVE TO THE FIRST SAID UP DIRECTION, IN BEAMS WITH THE PATHS OF THEIR CENTRAL BEAMS PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND IMAGE, SECOND MEANS TO DIVERT THE CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF THE BEAMS CARRYING SAID FIRST IMAGE TO A DIRECTION WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF SAID FIRST SAID UP DIRECTION, THIRD MEANS TO DIVERT THE CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF THE BEAMS CARRYING SAID SECOND IMAGE TO A DIRECTION WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF THE SECOND SAID UP DIRECTION, FOURTH MEANS TO DIVERT THE CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF THE BEAMS CARRYING SAID FIRST IMAGE TO A DIRECTION WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND IMAGES, FIFTH MEANS TO DIVERT THE CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF THE BEAMS CARRYING SAID SECOND IMAGE TO A DIRECTION WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND IMAGES AND PARALLEL TO AND LATERALLY DISPLACED FROM SAID CORRESPONDING CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF SAID BEAMS CARRYING SAID FIRST IMAGE AS DIVERTED BY SAID FOURTH MEANS, SIXTH MEANS TO DIVERT THE CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF SAID BEAMS CARRYING SAID FIRST IMAGE TO A DIRECTION WHICH IS PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST SAID UP DIRECTION, WHEREBY THE RESULTING CENTRAL BEAM IS ALONG THE AXIS OF A FIRST EXTREMELY WIDEANGLE OCULAR OF A SET OF RIGHT AND LEFT EYE VIEW EXTREMELY WIDE-ANGLE OCULARS, SEVENTH MEANS TO DIVERT THE CENTRAL BEAM PATH OF SAID BEAMS CARRYING SAID SECOND IMAGE TO A DIRECTION WHICH IS PARALLEL TO SAID SECOND SAID UP DIRECTION, WHEREBY THE RESULTING CENTRAL BEAM IS ALONG THE AXIS OF A SECOND EXTREMELY WIDE-ANGLE OCULAR OF SAID SET OF OCULARS, AN EIGHTH IMAGE FORMING MEANS BETWEEN SAID FIRST MEANS AND SAID FIRST OCULAR FOR RE-FORMING SAID FIRST IMAGE PERPENDICULAR TO THE CENTRAL BEAM CARRYING SAID FIRST IMAGE, A NINTH IMAGE FORMING MEANS BETWEEN SAID FIRST MEANS AND SAID SECOND OCULAR FOR RE-FORMING SAID SECOND IMAGE PERPENDICULAR TO THE CENTRAL BEAM CARRYING SAID SECOND IMAGE, ALL OF SAID MEANS COOPERATING TOGETHER SUCH THAT SAID FIRST AND SECOND IMAGES ARE RE-FORMED AT SAID EIGHTH AND NINTH MEANS IMAGE RE-FORMING POSITIONS RESPECTIVELY AND WHEREBY THE RAYS FROM SAID FIRST AND SECOND IMAGES ENTER THE EYES OF VIEWING OBSERVERS TO CREATE THE NATURALLY APPEARING SENSATION OF STEREO-PERIPHERAL RE-CONSTRUCTION GREATER THAN APPROXIMATELY 180* IN THE HORIZONTAL PLANE. 